Online Finance Blog

Not surprisingly, as the financial crisis continues to grip the UK, there is an increasing shift on demand from private to public sector jobs in finance. An inevitable trend which sees finance jobs in the realms of Central and Local Government, Health, Housing, Education and charities, a preferable role with added security. Commitment to investment and borrowing from the government to protect and increase the scope of public sector jobs makes it more of an enviable sector to be in. Differences continue to divide the private and public sectors and some of the challenges that will always remain in public sector recruitment continue to be the complexity and importance of the accounting positions in the sector and the demand of specialist knowledge and capabilities within those roles.

Salaries, benefits and the general tone of working have always segregated the sectors but a continuous push from the public sector to become more in line with the private sector is starting to make a difference. Targeting candidates from industry and banking due to their results-focus and business intelligence provides more commercial awareness and increases business efficiency and performance for the public sector. Adopting a more commercial structure and identifying the transferable experience an individual has into non-profit environments are key factors to ensure public and non-profit organisations get as much value for money in a time when government reviews and motions are becoming increasingly more demanding.

However transferable and relevant a private sector individual has to the public sector still won’t deter from a greater need for understanding and empathy with the ‘product’ of the non-profit sector. Nor will it be acceptable for individuals to see public sector recruitment as the safest avenue, gaining employment in this sector requires a high level of commitment to integrating within the team and meet the public sectors demands and expectations and attaining highly accountable targets. There are certain roles within the private sector that lend themselves better to public and non-profit sectors than others and individuals from the private sector who have highly technical finance skills within a banking background find themselves well equipped with highly regulated organisations like government departments for example. For a true insight into getting into public sector roles based on your experience to date contacting a specialist recruitment agency will provide you with the vital information you need.